HU000122USU0001_WWSDP_FOA 11-23-21.pdf

FY2022 Wounded Warrior Service Dog Project (WWSDP) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) HU000122USU0001

A. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

This FOA establishes eligibility, procedures, and requirements for the FY2022 WWSDP.

Applicants must be 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations who are in the business of training and providing service dogs to individuals with disabilities (including service members and veterans).

Pass-through entities will not be considered. The prime objective of the WWSDP is to support service members/veterans with disabilities across diverse geographic regions and population demographics by funding nonprofit organizations committed to advancing the service dog industry through continued learning, innovative training programs, and superior industry standards. Disabled service members/veterans are to be provided with trained service dogs matched to their disabilities, at no cost.

In FY2015, Congress appropriated $1,000,000 for the WWSDP to fund competitive grants.

Subject to Congressional appropriation, the FY2022 budget is estimated to be between $10,000,000 and $14,000,000 under the authority of the Defense Health Program, Operations & Maintenance, Therapeutic Service Dog Training Program. The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) is authorized by 10 U.S.C. 2113(g)(1)(A) to make grants to any nonprofit entity. Historically, USU has solicited grant applications from nonprofit institutions committed to connecting service dogs with service members/veterans. Under this FOA, USU is continuing that practice and intends to award multiple, 12-month grants, subject to availability of funding, to eligible nonprofit organizations.

For the purposes of this FOA, the WWSDP defines the below terms as follows:

Service member: active member of any branch of the U.S. military (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard) including National Guard/Reserve

Veteran: retired or discharged (honorably) service member Disability: a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental impairment that substantially limits an individual’s major life activities and has been documented by a physician

Service dog: any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability (does not include emotional support/therapy dogs or facility dogs)

B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

USU plans to award grants totaling approximately $10,000,000 to $14,000,000 to successful applicants for the FY2022 WWSDP. While the number of grants to be awarded and the amount of funding per grant will be determined based upon the quality of the applications and availability of funds, USU does not intend to award any single grant in excess of $1,000,000. To that end, the Government reserves the right to request adjustments to proposed budgets as a condition of award. Funding provided through this FOA is not

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intended to finance new projects or initiatives, but to support existing operations. The planned period of performance for the FY2022 WWSDP grants is 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023. Past Recipients of WWSDP grants are eligible to apply and compete for FY2022 WWSDP grants;

however, applications for renewal or supplementation of existing awards will not be considered.

C. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

WWSDP applicants must meet all of the following eligibility criteria by the application deadline stated herein (see Section D.4). Failure to do so will preclude USU from making an award to the applicant.

1. Eligible Applicants.

To be eligible to receive a WWSDP grant, an applicant must:

a. be a nonprofit organization that is subject to 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) of the tax code and is in the business of training and providing service dogs to individuals with disabilities (including service members/veterans);

b. have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM), and;

c. submit a complete application by the application deadline outlined herein. See Section D for information and requirements related to application content, form, and submission.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching.

There is no required cost sharing, cost matching, or cost participation for this opportunity.

Applications with cost sharing will not be evaluated more favorably.

3. Other.

a. Organizations that have been found to be in violation of a Federal statute are ineligible.

b. Organizations may submit only one application under FOA (one application per CAGE code).

c. All recipients must agree to Government auditing. In addition, all recipients must agree to provide interim and final progress and expense reports. See Section F.3 for additional information.

d. First-time recipients must agree to scheduled site visits by USU officials, as applicable. See Section F.4 for additional information.

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e. All recipients must ensure that service members/veterans applying for participation have their disability documented by their physician and submitted to the recipient organization before participating.

f. All recipients must ensure that all service dogs to be placed with service members/veterans have passed the public access test(s) described herein.

D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

1. Address to Request Application Package.

This document and its attachments (Att.1-Project Narrative template, Att.2-Budget Narrative template) contain all requirements to submit a response to this solicitation. No additional forms, kits, or other materials are needed except as referenced herein.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission.

Applications that do not comply with the content, format, and submission requirements outlined herein may be deemed non-responsive and removed from consideration.

Applicants should consider the evaluation criteria listed in Section E.1 when developing their applications and tailor a comprehensive plan to provide trained/matched service dogs to service members/veterans with disabilities.

All applications must be submitted electronically through the Grants.gov website (https://www.grants.gov). See Section D.6 for additional instructions.

Complete application packages consist of the following 4 forms, the Project Narrative, and the Budget Narrative. All information must be consistent across all parts of the application.

Forms1: All forms must be completed as applicable for each applicant. All budgets must be in whole US dollars. Grants awarded under this FOA will not exceed the total Federal Funding amount listed on the SF-424 and SF-424A.

o SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance: Applicants must complete all sections as applicable for their application with the exception of the below fields; those must be completed as follows:

Field 1.b: enter “Other” and “FOA response” Field 1.c: select “No” Fields 14.a-14.b: enter 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023 Fields 15.a-15.b: enter the total amount of Federal funding requested under this FOA in 15.a and leave 15.b blank (see FOA Section C.2). This

1 Example forms and form instructions may be found at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/sf-424-mandatory-family.html

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amount must match the amounts entered in the other application documents (e.g., SF-424A Section A, Field 1.e, the Project Narrative cover sheet, and the Budget Narrative).

o SF-424A Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs: Applicants must

ONLY complete the following fields and leave the other form fields blank:

Section A, Field 1.a: enter project name (this text should then auto-populate the column (1) header in Section B.6);

Section A, Field 1.e: enter the total amount of Federal funding requested under this FOA. This amount must match the amounts entered in the other application documents (e.g., SF-424 Field 15.a, the Project Narrative cover sheet, and the Budget Narrative).

Section B.6 Only complete the fields in column (1). The amounts entered in the column (1) fields should auto-populate the Totals fields (column (5) and row 6k). These amounts must match the amounts listed in the Budget Narrative.

Section F: enter the total requested Federal funding attributable to Direct Charges (Field 21) and Indirect Charges (Field 22). These amounts must match the amounts listed in the Budget Narrative. The total of these two amounts must match the amount in Section A, Field 5.g, and the amounts entered in the other application documents (e.g., SF-424 Field 15.a, the Project Narrative cover sheet, and the Budget Narrative).

o Project/Performance Site Location(s) Form

Project/Performance Site Primary Location fields: Enter the location where the majority of project performance will occur.

Project/Performance Site Location 1 fields: if performance will only take place at the primary location, leave this section blank (i.e., do not re-enter the primary location information). Otherwise, complete as applicable.

Add any additional site locations where performance will occur.

o SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities: Only include this form, if applicable

Project and Budget Narratives: Mandatory templates for the narratives are provided as attachments to this FOA and must be used in the submission. The templates contain specific instructions regarding the required content and form of each narrative and are considered to be part of the FOA. The narratives must concisely address all elements outlined in the templates and emphasize details over anecdotal or general statements.

3. Unique entity identifier and System for Award Management (SAM).

USU cannot make a Federal award to an applicant until the applicant has complied with all applicable unique entity identifier and SAM requirements. Each applicant is required to (a)

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provide a valid Tax Identification Number in its application; (b) have an active SAM registration before submitting an application; (c) maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which the applicant has an active Federal award or application under consideration by a Federal awarding agency.

4. Submission Dates and Times.

Applications must be submitted to and received and validated2 by Grants.gov no later than 11:59 PM (Eastern) on 25 January 2022.

Applicants are warned that submission deadlines as outlined herein will be strictly enforced and late applications will neither be reviewed nor considered.

Note: When planning a response to this FOA, applicants should take into account that some parts of the Grants.gov submission process may take days or weeks to complete. To avoid missing deadlines, Grants.gov recommends submitting applications to Grants.gov 24-48 hours in advance of the application due date to provide sufficient time to complete the registration and submission processes, receive email notifications from Grants.gov, and correct errors, as applicable. See Section D.6 for additional information.

5. Funding Restrictions.

a. Budgeted costs must be allowable, allocable and reasonable in accordance with

Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards 2 CFR 200- parts 200.403, 200.404 and 200.405.

b. Budget items not related to support for the operations of existing projects will not be approved (e.g., construction costs for new facilities, equipment purchases greater than $5,000, etc.).

c. Pre-award costs (expenses associated with activities prior to award) are not authorized and will not be reimbursed.

d. Service dogs are to be provided at no cost to the service members/veterans with disabilities; this includes application fees, training fees, etc.

6. Other Submission Requirements

As stated above, all applications to this FOA must be submitted electronically through the Grants.gov website. Applications submitted by any other method (e.g., another electronic portal, hand-carried, US Mail, email, fax) will not be accepted.

2 For an explanation of Grants.gov’s application statuses, see https://www.grants.gov/help/html/help/index.htm#t=Applicants%2FCheckApplicationStatus%2FCheckAppl icationStatus.htm.

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Instructions for submitting and tracking an application are provided at http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/apply-for-grants.html. An overview of the entire process may be found at https://www.grants.gov/documents/19/18243/GrantsgovApplicantOverviewTraining.pptx.

Note: applicants must complete a one-time registration process on Grants.gov before an application can be electronically submitted. If applicants have not previously registered, this process can take up to four weeks so registration should be done in sufficient time to ensure it does not impact an applicant’s ability to meet required submission deadlines. In addition, it may take Grants.gov up to 48 hours to receive, process, and validate applications before they are available to agencies for download. Once a submission is received, Grants.gov sends two email messages to the applicant. The first email confirms receipt of the application by Grants.gov. The second email indicates that the application has either been successfully validated by Grants.gov or has been rejected due to errors. If the application was successfully validated by Grants.gov, and the submission has both been retrieved and acknowledged by the posting agency, the applicant will receive an additional email. This email may be delivered to the applicant several days or weeks from the original date of their submission, depending on when the posting agency acknowledges the retrieval of the application from Grants.gov.

Technical Support: Grants.gov provides applicants 24/7 technical support via the toll-free number 1-800-518-4726 and email at support@grants.gov. Grants.gov recommends that applicants experiencing difficulties with their submission call the Support Center and get a ticket number. The Support Center ticket number will assist with tracking the issue. USU cannot assist applicants with technical support issues on Grants.gov.

E. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

1. Evaluation Criteria.

Eligible applications will be evaluated for technical merit and programmatic relevance using the following criteria:

a. Technical Merit

i. Overall quality of the applicant’s proposed approach for the dogs and the service members/veterans to include:

Outreach to potential participants Selection requirements for participants (dogs and service members/veterans) including the service member/veteran application process

Training including public access training/testing and whether the curriculum is sufficiently flexible to address the unique needs of the service members/veterans

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Aftercare

ii. Trainer qualifications (selection/hiring requirements) to include experience, expertise, and stability

iii. Adequacy of the training facilities and, as applicable, the animal housing facilities including consideration of the applicant’s demonstrated commitment to humane standards for animals.

iv. Budget realism assessment of whether the proposed budget for each budget category is appropriate, balanced, and realistic for the proposed work.

b. Programmatic Relevance

i. Relevance and feasibility of the applicant’s proposed approach within the context of the WWSDP’s prime objective, i.e., an overall assessment of how the applicant proposes to support service members/veterans across diverse geographic regions and population demographics by providing service dogs, training, and related aftercare that meets or exceeds industry standards.

ii. Past performance related to the placement and retention of service dogs with service members/veterans. Note: an applicant with no past performance to evaluate will receive a neutral rating for this criterion.

iii. Budget reasonableness assessment of whether the overall proposed budget is fair and reasonable for the proposed work.

2. Review and Selection Process. Eligible applications will be evaluated by two separate and independent committees: one focused on technical merit and the other focused on programmatic relevance. Review committee members will individually evaluate each application, as presented in its entirety, against the evaluation criteria listed above.

Applications that do not comply with the content, format, and submission requirements outlined herein may be deemed non-responsive and removed from consideration. The findings of the technical and programmatic relevance review committees will be presented to a Selecting Official who will determine which applications to award and the amount of each grant. These determinations involve programmatic considerations such as ensuring coverage of as many geographic regions/underrepresented areas as possible within funding limitations.

3. In accordance with 2 CFR 200.206, prior to making any award under this FOA in excess of $250,000, USU will review and consider any information about the applicant that is in the designated integrity and performance system accessible through SAM (see 41 U.S.C. 2313). The applicant may, at its option, review information in the designated integrity and performance systems accessible through SAM and comment

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on any information about itself that a Federal awarding agency previously entered and is currently in the designated integrity and performance system accessible through SAM. USU will consider any comments by the applicant, in addition to the other information in the designated integrity and performance system, in making a judgment about the applicant's integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under Federal awards when completing the required review of risk posed by applicants.

4. Anticipated Announcement and Federal Award Dates. The Government anticipates making awards no later than 30 June 2022. Unsuccessful applicants will be notified via email after all grant awards have been made.

F. FEDERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

1. Federal Award Notices. Successful applicants will receive an email notification with a copy of the fully executed grant award. Work may not begin until the signed grant agreement is received by the recipient.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements. All grant awards issued as a result of this opportunity will be subject to the DoD R&D General Terms and Conditions and USU General Terms and Conditions for Assistance Awards. In accordance with the USU Terms and Conditions, recipients will be responsible for invoicing as specified in the award.

3. Reporting. Recipients of an award under this FOA shall be required to submit two (2) comprehensive progress and financial reports (6-month interim and 12-month final report). Both reports shall be reviewed to ensure grant funds are used for the purposes stated in the grant. The progress report shall include the status of any plans, processes, or general elements described in the grant.

Recipients of an award under this FOA where the Federal share is in excess of $500,000 may be subject to the post award reporting requirements reflected in 2 CFR 200, Appendix XII—Award Term and Condition for Recipient Integrity and Performance Matters.

4. Site visits. First-time recipients of a WWSDP award may be subject to a site visit by a USU official. Site visits are anticipated to last no more than one day and occur during normal operating hours at the recipient’s facility. For those applicants who have never had a WWSDP grant, any anticipated costs associated with a site visit must be outlined in the proposed budget and budget justifications, as applicable. Budgeted costs must be allowable, allocable and reasonable in accordance with Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards 2 CFR 200- parts 200.403, 200.404 and 200.405.

The purpose of the site visits is to share best practices and to verify the existence of the

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facilities and services identified by the recipient in their grant application. These activities may include, but are not limited to:

meeting and interviewing various staff;

viewing dog placement records and veterinary records, if applicable;

ensuring the trainers are skilled and receive continuing education;

viewing marketing and outreach materials;

viewing the recipient’s training curriculum;

ensuring Public Access Test reports are on file and checking on how the recipient follows up for annual recertification;

viewing a dog training session;

viewing a service member/veteran training session with their service dog;

reviewing how the recipient self-evaluates and handles Q&A;

discussing how drop outs or failed placements are handled; and, if feasible, meeting privately with service members/veterans who have received dogs to discuss their experience with the service dogs and the recipient organization

Specific requirements related to site visits will be included in the grant terms and conditions for first-time recipients.

G. FEDERAL AWARDING AGENCY CONTACT

All questions related to this funding opportunity must be emailed to the WWSDP mailbox at wwsdp-ggg@usuhs.edu. Submission to any other address may result in a delayed or no response. For questions related to technical support for Grants.gov, see Section D.6.

H. OTHER INFORMATION

1. The Federal Government is not obligated to make any Federal award as a result of an announcement.

2. Only a warranted Grants Officer can obligate the Federal Government.

3. Recipients who do not achieve proposed outcomes or adhere to the terms and conditions of the grant may not be eligible to compete in any similar future announcements.

Wounded Warrior Service Dog Project (WWSDP)

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number HU000122USU0001

Attachment 1 ‐ Project Narrative Template

Use of this template is mandatory for all applications. Applications not meeting the format or content requirements prescribed in the FOA and this document may be deemed nonresponsive and removed from consideration.

In order for the Review Committees to fully evaluate the quality of the applicant’s project, the narrative must address all of the elements listed in this template. The narrative should be clear and concise, emphasizing details over anecdotal or general statements.

This document may not exceed 10 pages (excluding cover page and resumes), must be submitted in .pdf, .odx, .doc, or .docx formats, written in English, formatted for printing on 8‐

1/2 by 11 inch paper, single‐spaced, 12‐point Calibri (or similar) font, with a mimimum of 1‐ inch margins and pages sequentially numbered.

DO NOT INCLUDE THIS PAGE IN YOUR APPLICATION

HU000122USU0001 Project Narrative 1

Project Narrative

Applicant organization

Technical Point of Contact (POC)/Principal

Investigator (PI)

Name:

Telephone:

Email:

Administrative POC/Authorized Representative

Name:

Telephone:

Email:

Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code

Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)

Total Federal funding requested Total: $

Period of Performance (for application purposes) 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023

Number of dogs to be trained during the 12‐ month period of performance

Number of dogs to be placed with eligible service members and/or veterans during the 12‐month period of performance

Applicant representation that their participation in WWSDP is provided at no charge to service members/veterans. This includes any reimbursable costs to the grant award (e.g., application fees).

_____ Yes

_____ No

HU000122USU0001 Project Narrative 2

The Project Narrative must specify any implemented standards (to include testing) such as those published by recognized organizations such as the International Guide Dog Foundation

(IGDF)1, Assistance Dogs International (ADI)2, Association of Service Dog Providers for Military

Veterans (ASDPMV)3, and American Kennel Club (AKC)4. Note: while applicants are not required to be members of or certified by these organizations, they are expected to meet or exceed industry standards such as those published by those organizations. The narrative must demonstrate that the applicant is not a pass‐through entity, i.e., outsourcing essential training or animal husbandry services.

A. Participant Identification and Outreach

Describe how service members/veterans in need of service dogs are identified and contacted.

Describe outreach to service members/veterans from outside the organization’s immediate commuting area, including their accessibility to the applicant’s organization.

B. Target Participants

Identify any specific underserved communities and/or geographic areas targeted.

C. Participant Application and Selection

Describe the application and selection process for service members/veterans including how their disability documentation is requested and provided. See Section C.3.e of the FOA.

D. Selection of Service Dogs

Describe the process for obtaining service dogs including source (e.g., in‐house breeding, adoptions from shelters, etc.) and tests used (e.g., temperament testing, health screening).

E. Training Programs

Describe the training programs for the dogs and for the service members/veterans. Address public access training and tests used for placement. Describe how the curriculum will address the unique needs of each participant in order to match specifically trained dogs to an individual’s specific disability(s). Specify the standards and testing used to evaluate the service dogs for readiness, e.g., the ADI Public Access Certification Test (PACT). Note: while applicants are not required to specifically use the ADI test, public access testing of all service dogs is required under the WWSDP. See Section C.3.f of the FOA.

F. Trainer Requirements

Describe the selection and hiring requirements for trainers. Submit resumes for each trainer

1 https://assistancedogsinternational.org/standards/summary-of-standards/ 2 https://www.igdf.org.uk/about-us/igdf-standards/ 3 http://servicedogs4vets.org/service-dogs-national-standards/ 4 https://www.akc.org/products-services/training-programs/canine-good-citizen/

HU000122USU0001 Project Narrative 3 and include academic degrees, certifications, continuing education, professional development, etc., as appropriate.

G. Facilities

Describe the training facilities and, as applicable, animal housing facilities. Include sufficient details to demonstrate the applicant organization’s commitment to humane standards for animals.

H. Aftercare

Describe the aftercare and support services provided to service members/veterans and their placed dogs.

I. Past Performance

Describe the organization’s past performance related to the placement and retention of service dogs with service members/veterans. Provide up to 3 years of data. If data is unavailable, provide an explanation.

Attachment 2 ‐ Budget Narrative Template

Use of this template is mandatory for all applications. Applications not meeting the format or content requirements prescribed in the FOA and this document may be deemed nonresponsive and removed from consideration.

The Budget Narrative must address all of the elements listed in this template and in accordance with FOA Section D.5 (Funding Restrictions). All proposed costs (both direct and indirect) must be:

associated with the placement of service dogs with service members/veterans during the grant period of performance, described and justified in detail, include enough detail to show how the estimates were calculated or determined, and listed in whole US dollars.

All budget/cost information provided in the Budget Narrative must be consistent with the information provided in the SF‐424, SF‐424A, and Project Narrative.

This document must be submitted in .pdf, .odx, .doc, or .docx formats, written in English, formatted for printing on 8‐1/2 by 11 inch paper, single‐spaced, 12‐point Calibri (or similar) font, with a mimimum of 1‐inch margins and pages sequentially numbered.

DO NOT INCLUDE THIS PAGE IN YOUR APPLICATION

HU000122USU0001 Budget Narrative 1

Budget Narrative

Applicant Organization

Total Proposed Budget Total Direct Costs Total Indirect Costs

A. Costs by Category

Provide details and cost estimates for each of the following Object Class Categories (i.e., budget categories), as applicable. As applicable for each category, provide (1) a total cost broken down by direct and indirect, and (2) a cost breakdown as described in each section. Note:

construction costs are not applicable for this funding opportunity and should not be included.

1. Personnel

List the labor costs for each individual working on the project and include the percentage of effort for each.

2. Travel

Provide estimated costs and details for each trip including number of travelers, number of days, costs for lodging, transportation, per diem, etc.

3. Equipment

List items, quantity, and estimated costs.

4. Supplies

List items, quantity, and estimated costs.

5. Contractual

Provide estimated costs for subcontracts, consultants, etc.

6. Other

Costs in this category may include items such as trainer education, related purchases not already included, veterinary expenses, housing, etc. Applicants that have never received a WWSDP grant must provide estimated costs (if any) that may be required if the applicant is selected for a site visit as described in FOA Section F.4. For estimating purposes, assume a 1‐day site visit by 1 USU official.

B. Fringe Benefits

Provide the rate and the budget categories to which it is applied.

HU000122USU0001 Budget Narrative 2

C. Indirect Rate

Provide either the applicant’s Federally‐approved indirect cost rate or a statement that the applicant is electing to use the de minimus 10% indirect cost rate. If using an approved rate, the application must include a copy of the certified rate agreement and contact information for the cognizant Government audit agency.